Articles by Gautam Navlakha

In its maiden budget, the PDP-Congress government in Jammu and Kashmir has laid much stress on 'fiscal autonomy' for the state. However, the counter-insurgency regime in the state remains in place, and expenditure on this account will enormously increase the financial burden in the coming years, even as the real sources to make J and K self-sufficient remain blocked. While fiscal autonomy can be read as an expression of a desire to be free, it cannot become a substitute for addressing the fundamental issue of the people's right to decide their own destiny.

In more than 19 months of its existence POTA has established itself as a piece of legislation that is meant to terrorise precisely those sections of the population that are vulnerable and are victims of gross injustices. Not surprisingly, the maximum numbers of those charged under POTA are landless or land-poor dalits and adivasis accused of being Naxalites, Kashmiris fighting against oppressive Indian rule or Muslims accused of working in tandem with Pakistan's ISI.

The ceasefire has been welcomed by the people and the Maoists - sincerity is demonstrated by the fact of the large-scale mobilisation taking place in support of an elected constituent assembly. How patient all the other parties concerned will be with the process of dialogue is dependent on the various foreign influences that Nepal has always been vulnerable to, not least of which derives from New Delhi.

In its response to recent events in Kashmir and elsewhere, the Indian government's security policy reveals a distorted approach. In its bid to end terrorism, a heightened perception of threat has seen an ever-increasing budgeting on security and defence. Ironically, it has also fostered a scenario when the state itself turns persecutor, making victims of its own citizens.

Criticised for its blatant violations of rights, TADA did little to combat the menace of terrorism. Under POTO a crime is defined first and foremost on intent and the actions designated as crimes are all encompassing. Since the intent is to be judged and the prosecution launched by a corrupt and malleable law-enforcement machinery, use and misuse of the law will coalesce.